The Frame Story

Most of you know that I have been laying the foundation to start a picture frame company for well over a year now. This past semester and this whole summer has been heavily devoted to my project and I have made a ton of progress in the past few weeks alone. I have finally tracked down a possible supplier who I am waiting for to give me a figure on how much 400 hand made frames will cost...but the whole story behind the inspiration itself is pretty interesting.

Last summer while living in Orizaba Mexico I was working on an ïnternship" with the Mexican Government. I use the term loosely because in all reality I sat at a desk and doodled hoping someone would talk to me or I could go home early. One day my boss told me to go home and get a sweater because we were going to Tlaxcala together. I asked her if I needed anything else and she said no. So twenty minutes later we were in the car headed to this mysterious Tlaxcala, which, I assumed was 30 minutes away at the most. Three hours, a full bladder, and no lunch later we arrived in the capital city. She turned to me and asked where I would like to be dropped off? I had no idea where I was. No money. No phone. She dropped me off in the city center. There was a large church, an open park, buildings, open air markets, and a grocery store. I searched for 45 minutes before I found a bathroom she told me she'd be back to get me in three hours. I felt like crying.

I wandered around and ended up in this sketchy part of town and ended up walking down some small back alley to a art gallery I had spotted tucked away in a corner. Inside was a bright and beautiful display full of picture frames. Frida Khalo, Che, Andy Warhol style pop art frames, frames with bold colors, beautiful designs, and lots of funky spunk. I was in love. And with no camera and no money I was also highly annoyed.

When I finally returned to San Diego at the end of the summer I wanted to make some frames for my dorm. I pulled out an old miter chop saw who's blade was 15 years old and made a trip to Home Depot. When my mom saw the finished frames she exclaimed, "You should sell these! They are beautiful!"